by Agathe Guetat March 18, 2019

Siham - she who dares.

Today I present to you Siham (Jibril), creator of the Podcast: Generation XX. A special bond exists between Siham and me. Siham is kind enough to consider that I was chosen to be his first interviewee at the launch of his Podcast project, 2 years ago already. To listen to it, click here . And I included Siham in my little Pantheon of great encounters, since this initial interview which radiated so many promising vibrations. Unforgettable, Siham's natural empathy and candor, traits which often mask determination, this flame which pushes pioneers forward... you know, these slightly crazy people, who we also call entrepreneurs ( e)s, capable of throwing themselves from the top of a cliff with the certainty that they will find a way to build a glider during the descent.

Siham is one of them, she who was a pioneer in 2016 of the podcast dedicated to women entrepreneurs. Why how ?

A graduate of EM Lyon, Siham loved this school which, for her, escapes the stereotypes of the major Parisian schools. She loved the cosmopolitanism, the work in small teams and the “campus”, this Latin word which means field, like the field where we sow lots of promises for the future. At the exit, head to Africa to enter the African Amazon in Nigeria. E-commerce and the adventure satisfy her curiosity and her need to measure the useful effect of what she does. But another flame, more secret, animates Siham: writing, the magic of assembled words which carry the reader into the labyrinth of the imagination. Siham fills notebooks and projects scenarios. Cinema fascinates her. Cocteau must inevitably inspire him: " cinema is modern writing whose ink is light "... one day, that's for sure, writing will be Siham's daily raison d'être. and his scenarios will find their producer. In the meantime, Siham plans to start a company with a former colleague from Africa. It's stimulating to build a project between two people, accomplices, who have the same operating codes. But the project will not succeed, perhaps because it was not supposed to succeed, in other words because Siham, dissatisfied, had her head elsewhere. We know that Christopher Columbus discovered something other than what he set out to look for... we know that the Tatin sisters discovered an iconic apple pie, born from a baking failure... The Americans call it "serendipity » this way of discovering a nugget by chance or the result of a failure. Its translation, serendipity, is far from being imposed here, that’s saying something! There you go, Siham has just had a stroke of serendipity. The failure of her project gave rise to the idea of creating an informal community by giving voice to other entrepreneurs; not on a TV set or in catchy videos, but directly in our ears, in a free, intimate and nomadic way. Without knowing anything about sound recording and editing techniques, Siham launches himself with his microphone and his limitless empathy... and it works, instantly. I know, I “wiped the plaster” from the first interview, it was good. I remember our complicity which formed over the words, the fluidity of the questions which, without forcing their way, elicited sincere answers, free from the suspicion of being manipulative... and above all, without being interrupted at all. end of field, as unfortunately on most TV sets where hysterization of exchanges has become the norm.

Emotional intelligence is a gift, conversation, an art.

Then, all of this was web-mastered and podcasted to enter your ears, on the bus, in the car, in the kitchen, on a walk... wherever you decide, freely. Magic of words, not yet writing then, but of the voice that carries them away, even more captivating than the image. The Generation XX Podcast was launched. By the way, why this name, Generation XX? Siham has enough humor to sneer at the dubious allusions of those who see the promise of a porn site! No, sorry guys, XX is the symbol for the female chromosome, that's all (you're XY). Because Siham with his Podcast, leads, without seeming to touch it, a fight, not a feminist and militant fight, but quite simply a fight on the sly against stereotypes. And among all the stereotypes that annoy her, there is this overdose of the cliché and all its variations: “how to succeed as a woman? » which presuppose, or worse, prejudge, that the “successful” woman can only be a caricature of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. It’s difficult to remove this sticker: “as a woman..” which pins us to the floor under the glass ceiling. The one who ventures to break through this glass ceiling is accused, at best, of being intrepid with uncertain skills, or, worse, of being a harpy without faith or law, ready for anything. No ! Please. The best way to put an end to these clichés from another age is to give voice to those who undertake with as much humility as determination. And entrepreneurship is not limited to following the indicated legal and accounting route to set up a company, no! It’s so much more ambitious. It is said that a mountaineer will “undertake” the ascent of Everest. That's it, that's what undertaking is: a mountain stands before us and we are going to climb it. All roads lead there, new life paths, successes, falls, crossroads, encounters... we start again. Up ? We will have transformed reality and given meaning to the ascension, that’s certain. In 2 years Siham will have had more than 50 meetings, each more beautiful and relevant than the last. Many have inspired me myself, Axelle Tessandier, Mathilde Lacombe, Francine Leca (the luminous surgeon from Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque). It's no longer a question of breaking through the glass ceiling, it's starting to fall into small pieces, it's now a question of making the jar overflow! Siham is satisfied when men, entrepreneurs or not, recognize themselves in her energy to form the same wave. This energy no longer belongs to a specific gender, man or woman, whatever. It is the energy born of merit and competence, regardless of the differences. “ If you differ from me, my Brother, far from harming me, you enrich me .” Saint-Exupéry obviously wrote this wonderful metaphor for you to make it your own, Siham! Today, Génération XX is an audiovisual production company that is bustling with projects. Growth, legitimacy, recognition, link, trace... “ YOU GOT THIS!” » you got it! This is the mantra written on Siham's t-shirts. Yes yes, we have understood where you are going Siham. Here we go .